How many words do you know? Tackling the "Vocabulary Gap" Between Rich and Poor Children Children from lower-income homes may hear 30 million fewer words by age 3. Speakers of English in non-English-speaking countries have an average of about 4,500 words. 1. Posted Feb 16, 2014 This study focuses on the vocabulary size of native speakers of English aged from 13-18, on factors affecting the vocabulary size of these learners, including age, school year, gender, and the version of the VST. By Jessica Boddy Aug. 19, 2016 , 10:00 AM. After 18 months, word acquisition increases dramatically. A: Around their second birthday, many children begin to acquire words at breakneck speed, a phenomenon experts call the naming explosion. Most 2-year-olds can say about 100 words. An average child knows approximately 3,000 words. Jokes are also a good way to see how your child’s vocabulary is developing. There are known differences between the vocabulary level of a child and an adult. Estimated vocabulary size … Average Vocabulary Size Estimates of average vocabulary size range from 20,000 to 70,000 words depending upon which experts you listen to and how they define a word. People with college degrees tend to have larger vocabularies. However, when we look deeper into the gap between the 3,000 that children know and the 30,000 that adults know, we find that we English speakers don’t really learn much as we grow into adults. Vocabulary size Native-language vocabulary. Average native test-takers of age 4 already know 5,000 words Adult native test-takers learn almost 1 new word a day until middle age Adult test-taker vocabulary growth basically stops at middle age From age 6 to 8, the average child in school is learning 6–7 words per day, and from age 8 to 10, approximately 12 words per day. A good test of your child’s vocabulary is to engage them in word games. Research questions The study addressed the following questions. Means. According to a recent article in The Economist, the average adult American native speaker of English has a vocabulary between 20,000 and 35,000 words. In contrast, non-native speakers living in English-speaking countries for many years learn 2.5 words a day, over twice the rate of native speakers. The researchers found that native adult speakers of English understand an average of 20,000 to 30,000 vocabulary words, and native speakers learn about one word a day from ages 16 to 50. Try thinking of words (hot, high, fast, bright etc) and challenging your child to tell you the opposite word (the antonym): they should be able to do this by the age of seven, or thereabouts. Vocabulary – By 18 months of age, most children have at least ten words. 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